J Emerg Med
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Although surface sonography has become an essential diagnostic tool in the evaluation of trauma patients, important limitations of this modality include the evaluation of retroperitoneal hemorrhage and mediastinal pathology, such as blunt traumatic aortic injuries (BTAI). As in other emergency applications where surface sonography can't provide the information needed, focused transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) may represent a valuable diagnostic tool in the evaluation of hemodynamically unstable trauma patients with suspected thoracic pathology such as BTAI. ⋯ We present a series of five cases that illustrate the diagnostic value of emergency physician-performed resuscitative TEE in the diagnosis of BTAI in patients presenting with blunt thoracic trauma. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: As the use of point-of-care TEE during resuscitation continues to expand in emergency medicine, the evaluation of patients with BTAI represents a novel application where this emerging modality can allow early diagnosis of these injuries in hemodynamically unstable patients.
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The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has caused a pandemic, overwhelming health care systems around the world. Hospitals around the world, including the United States, have been struggling to adapt to the influx of patients with COVID-19, the illness caused by SARS-CoV2, given limited resources and high demand for medical care. ⋯ Point-of-care ultrasound provides numerous benefits to emergency providers caring for patients with COVID-19, including decreasing resource utilization, assisting in diagnosis, guiding management of the critically ill patient, and aiding in rapid triage of patients under investigations for COVID-19.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial on Trigger Point Injections With 1% Lidocaine Versus Conventional Approaches for Myofascial Pain in the Emergency Department.
Myofascial neck and back pain is an increasingly common chief symptom in the emergency department. Currently, there are no widely accepted conventional therapies, and there is little evidence on the efficacy of interventions such as trigger point injections (TPIs). ⋯ TPI is an effective method for managing myofascial pain in the emergency department. This study indicates it may improve pain compared with conventional methods, reduce length of stay in the emergency department, and reduce opioid prescriptions on discharge.
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In the prehospital setting, pit-crew models of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have shown improvements in survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Certain districts in North America have adopted this model, including Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. ⋯ In our study, implementation of a pit-crew CPR model was not associated with an improvement in survival to discharge after OHCA.